Friday, December 21, 2018

PRATT, Kan. (BP) -- The setting was simple -- a barn, some bales of hay and a few animals -- much like the story that hundreds in rural Kansas gathered to hear: Jesus was born to be your Savior.

Steve Taylor opened his Bible and read the story of Jesus' birth. There were no actors portraying the scene or breaking out in song. Instead, a group of children sat at the pastor's feet captivated with the story from Matthew and Luke. Their older siblings, parents, grandparents and neighbors listened as they sat on hay bales. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- For the second year in a row, Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptists approved the largest increase among all state Baptist conventions in the portion of Cooperative Program receipts sent beyond the state next year. The new split of 65 percent for in-state missions and ministry and 35 percent for the work of Southern Baptist entities will deliver an anticipated $192,500 beyond the two states for international and domestic missions, six Southern Baptist seminaries, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and the Executive Committee of the SBC.

Joining Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptists with increases in the percentage given to SBC causes ... Read More

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's 71-page report on the institution's history of slavery and racism garnered coverage in hundreds of media outlets during the week following its release. Reaction to the report ranged from affirmation by many evangelicals to criticism from both the left and right.

"Insofar as there is any legitimacy to any criticism, we need to hear it," Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. said Dec. 17 on NPR's On Point radio broadcast. "... I intend to deal with honest partners in this, with people who want to engage in a conversation about the Christian responsibility that we face as Southern Seminary. And I think Southern Baptists ... Read More

CARY, N.C. (BP) – A review of this year's top stories reveals one particular topic that seems to stand out -- change. And it is presented here as a call to pray for the many churches, organizations and individual Christians involved -- that is to say, all of us.

The Southern Baptist Convention began what appears to be a season of change in 2018, signaled most noticeably by vacancies in executive leadership roles at five SBC entities. Yet, there was also a wave of other openings, transitions or announced departures in seats of influence at state and national entities, as well as local churches. Read More

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Thursday (Dec. 20) to reverse a year-old law that calls for churches to file tax returns for the first time in American history, but it appears unlikely the effort will go any further in this Congress.

The House voted 220-183 in a nearly party-line vote for a bill that included repeal of a 2017 tax cut's provision -– Section 512(a)(7) -- that required houses of worship and nonprofit organizations to pay a 21 percent tax on such employee benefits as parking and transportation. Only Republicans voted in favor of the proposal, and all but three of those opposing the legislation were Democrats. Read More

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Human dignity and the family occupied much of the Gospel focus of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission during 2018.

The ERLC co-hosted a racial reconciliation conference attended by about 4,000 people on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., again co-sponsored Evangelicals for Life (EFL), and addressed the Gospel and the family in its annual national conference. The entity with offices in Nashville and Washington, D.C., also continued its advocacy for religious freedom domestically and internationally. Read More

DALLAS (BP) -- Last January, at the start of GuideStone Financial Resources centennial anniversary, O.S. Hawkins declared 2018 the Year of New Beginnings.

With a new headquarters for the Southern Baptist entity, the launch of new health care options and the successful completion of the GuideStone 100 long-range plan that has guided the board's work for more than a decade, 2018 indeed became a year of new beginnings for GuideStone.

"We believe that our best years remain in front of us," Hawkins, GuideStone's president since ... Read More

DALLAS (BP) -- Financial markets continued to retreat in the wake of the Federal Reserve's decision to raise the Fed Funds rate by 0.25 percent, to a range of 2.25 and 2.5 percent.

The move by the Fed was expected. It was the fourth rate hike of 2018 and the ninth since December 2015.

"The Fed has a dual mandate," said David S. Spika, chief strategic investment officer for GuideStone Financial Resources: "price stability as determined by the Core Consumer Price Index and full employment. In light of this dual mandate, the current economic conditions ... Read More

DURHAM, N.C. (BP) -- What do we mean when we talk about the "favor of God?"

The house you've always wanted goes into foreclosure and you buy it for a steal. Your kids bring their report cards home and it's straight A's. You find out that a long lost relative left you a tidy sum of money.

Many people may think that God's favor is something like that. When life seems to break your way, it's easy to think, "God is really smiling down on me now. He must really love me." Read More

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The launch of criminal justice reform backed by both conservatives and liberals has become a reality in federal law.

The First Step Act to promote the rehabilitation and societal re-entry of prisoners while maintaining public safety was signed by President Trump on Friday (Dec. 21). The measure provides training for inmates and reforms some sentencing requirements, including certain drug offenses.

Trump's action followed the House of Representatives' passage of the bill Thursday (Dec. 20) ... Read More

Formed in 1946 by the Southern Baptist Convention, and supported with Cooperative Program funds, Baptist Press (BP) is a daily (Monday-Friday) international news service. Operating from a central bureau in Nashville, Tenn., BP works with a large network of contributing writers, photographers and editorial providers to produce BP News.